1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate to a home network, and more particularly, to an inter-home content sharing method and apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Home network technology allows all digital devices in the home to connect through a network and provides remote control, multimedia services, information services, and the like. Examples of network terminals include computer-based devices such as notebook computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) and domestic appliances such as refrigerators, televisions (TVs), and set-top boxes.
Home network terminals communicate with each other by using the same home network middleware to provide home network services. Examples of a type of the middleware include universal plug and play (UPnP) led by Microsoft and Intel, Jini developed by Sun, and home audio video interoperability (HAVi). Of these, the UPnP is the most widely used and has practically become a standard in the home network middleware field on the basis of larger firms.
The UPnP minimizes user involvement and performs a function of remote method invocation. In addition, the UPnP has functions of network auto-completion, service discovery, simple object access protocol (SOAP)-based remote method invocation, event-based status information confirmation, and the like. In addition to the aforementioned basic functions, the UPnP defines a device control protocol (DCP) for home network devices such as a printer.
With the spread of Internet use, the use of large-capacity and always-active connection networks through cable television (CATV), a digital subscriber line (xDSL), a high-speed communication network, or the like continues to expand, and networking between a personal computer (PC) and peripheral devices through a wireless local area network (LAN) continues to grow. In addition, with the acceleration of digitizing and the expansion of communication infra-structures, environments in which electronic devices, information and communication devices, and domestic appliances are digitized to connect each other through a single network and can share image and sound information with each other have been provided.
In this situation, as digital electronic devices connected to a home network have been commonly used, exchanging contents stored in the digital electronic devices between users increases. In general, exchanging contents is performed by using PCs. This method may cause inconvenience when a user wants to share contents stored in a home network device with another user. This is because the user has to perform retrieving, downloading, and transmitting the contents by using the PC.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a system for transmitting contents stored in a home network device to another user according to the related art.
Referring to FIG. 1, a method of transmitting contents stored in a home network device to another user, in an environment in which a home network is implemented, is shown. The user who wants to transmit the contents retrieves contents of a home device 101 by using a PC 102, downloads the contents to the PC 102, and transmits the contents to a PC 112 of a receiver.
In the related art method, content sharing is performed on the PC basis. When the user wants to transmit contents in the home network device to another user, the user has to use the PC. In addition, applications used to control the home network device and transmit the contents to another user have to be installed in the PC.
In this method, the user performs all operations associated with content transmission on the PC basis, so that procedures are complex and inconvenient. In addition, the method cannot be used by a user who is unfamiliar with manipulating the PC.